“Bloody hell.” It was Bo holding Taylor back now. “Was he in on it with Salena?”
“Are you high?” CJ waved Sloan off. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know people, Curtis, and people love to talk. Did Vanessa Parisi pay you to get to us, too, or did she just fuck you for the privilege?” Sloan spat on the ground at CJ’s feet, and with a shake of his collar, he let him go. “I hope she wasn’t too disappointed.”
“This is how you do yourfriends?” Flabbergasted, Matt could only shake his head.
“You’re going to regret this. All of you.” But CJ was looking right at him. “I made you, and I can ruin you, too.”
“Bollocks!” Taylor shouted. Matt couldn’t recall ever seeing him this angry. “You didn’t make us, you slimy bastard.”
“C’mon, CJ, you’ve had a lot to drink,” Brendan said, escorting him toward the exit. “I think you should go home before you say something you’ll regret.”
“You knew what he did and never said anything?” Bo asked, his jaw going slack.
“Just a hunch,” Sloan said, pouring CJ’s whiskey into a glass. Then, he drank it. “But I’d say the look on his face confirmed it.”
“Damn.” Bo took the glass from Sloan, refilling it. “CJ knows people, too. You think he’s gonna start shit?”
“Let him try.” Slinging his arm over Taylor’s shoulder, Brendan didn’t appear to be concerned. “I’ll have Phil send him a strongly worded letter, and if he does, we’ll sue.”
“I think now’s a good time to tell them, mate.”
“Tell us what?” Matt asked, his gaze going back and forth between the two men.
“A friend of a friend put me in touch with UMG.” Brendan reached for his shoulder with a broad grin, then he shook it. “And they want Venery.”
“Universal Music Group?” Bo took a step back, rubbing his forehead. He muttered the very thought in Matt’s head, “I thought we were done with record labels.”
“The deal’s to our advantage. We should at least consider it,” Taylor said, oddly enough, being that he was the one who convinced them to part ways with their old label, and it had proven to be a wise decision. “They only want to back us—license our music. We get to stay in control and retain ownership of the masters.”
“We’re doing just fine on our own.” And slumping down into a chair, Sloan picked at the tattered rips in his jeans.
“You are, but they’ve got a marketing team with tremendous reach and you don’t,” Brendan offered, but Sloan already had tuned him out.
Matt turned his gaze on Taylor. “They’ll want us touring a lot more than we have been.”
“Probably.”
“And you’re good with that?” It would stun Matt if he said so. Taylor was a grumpy motherfucker when he was away from his family. “What about Chloe, Jesse, and the kids?”
“We haven’t negotiated a contract yet.” And he handed him a beer. “Besides, if anything, Bo has shown us there’s a muchbetter way to travel. Universal’s a major label—one of the big three—so I’m sure they’ll accommodate our needs.”
Then, glancing at the path outside, Sloan got up from his chair. “And here comes trouble.”
Brendan followed his gaze. “Who’s that?”
She wore a little white dress. Hips swaying, long, dark hair swinging in the breeze, her brothers and Kevin Cofield walking alongside her.
Matt smiled. “My girl.”
“You remember Tony Rossi’s little sister, don’t you?” Pressing his lips together, Sloan attempted to contain his snicker. He failed. Miserably.
“Gina?” Brendan arched a brow, sighing. “Oh, boy.”
She shimmied into the white cotton dress, slipping its thin straps over her shoulders. Flouncy, flared, and daringly short, she smoothed the hem down her thighs, checking out her reflection in the full-length mirror. With an open back and a corset-like bodice that pushed up her breasts. Normally, she’d throw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans to go to a concert in Coventry Park, but tonight Gina wasn’t just going to see the show now, was she?
Fearing the humidity would melt any makeup off her face, even with setting spray, she kept it to a minimum, playing up her eyes. With her hair curled into loose waves for the same reason, Gina tucked a clip into her Bumbag in case it turned into a frizzy, hot mess. At least then, she’d be able to put it up. With a cute pair of blush open-toed ankle boots, she took one last look in the mirror and made her way downstairs.
